TY - JOUR A1 - Shoaee, Safa A1 - Stolterfoht, Martin A1 - Neher, Dieter T1 - The Role of Mobility on Charge Generation, Recombination, and Extraction in Polymer-Based Solar Cells JF - dvanced energy materials N2 - Organic semiconductors are of great interest for a broad range of optoelectronic applications due to their solution processability, chemical tunability, highly scalable fabrication, and mechanical flexibility. In contrast to traditional inorganic semiconductors, organic semiconductors are intrinsically disordered systems and therefore exhibit much lower charge carrier mobilities-the Achilles heel of organic photovoltaic cells. In this progress review, the authors discuss recent important developments on the impact of charge carrier mobility on the charge transfer state dissociation, and the interplay of free charge extraction and recombination. By comparing the mobilities on different timescales obtained by different techniques, the authors highlight the dispersive nature of these materials and how this reflects on the key processes defining the efficiency of organic photovoltaics. KW - charge generation KW - charge recombination KW - extraction KW - mobility KW - organic solar cells KW - polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201703355 SN - 1614-6832 SN - 1614-6840 VL - 8 IS - 28 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Love, John A. A1 - Feuerstein, Markus A1 - Wolff, Christian Michael A1 - Facchetti, Antonio A1 - Neher, Dieter T1 - Lead Halide Perovskites as Charge Generation Layers for Electron Mobility Measurement in Organic Semiconductors JF - ACS applied materials & interfaces N2 - Hybrid lead halide perovskites are introduced as charge generation layers (CGLs) for the accurate determination of electron mobilities in thin organic semiconductors. Such hybrid perovskites have become a widely studied photovoltaic material in their own right, for their high efficiencies, ease of processing from solution, strong absorption, and efficient photogeneration of charge. Time-of-flight (ToF) measurements on bilayer samples consisting of the perovskite CGL and an organic semiconductor layer of different thickness are shown to be determined by the carrier motion through the organic material, consistent with the much higher charge carrier mobility in the perovskite. Together with the efficient photon-to-electron conversion in the perovskite, this high mobility imbalance enables electron-only mobility measurement on relatively thin application-relevant organic films, which would not be possible with traditional ToF measurements. This architecture enables electron-selective mobility measurements in single components as well as bulk-heterojunction films as demonstrated in the prototypical polymer/fullerene blends. To further demonstrate the potential of this approach, electron mobilities were measured as a function of electric field and temperature in an only 127 nm thick layer of a prototypical electron-transporting perylene diimide-based polymer, and found to be consistent with an exponential trap distribution of ca. 60 meV. Our study furthermore highlights the importance of high mobility charge transporting layers when designing perovskite solar cells. KW - mobility KW - bulk heterojunction KW - time of flight KW - lead halide perovskites KW - charge generation layers Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b10361 SN - 1944-8244 VL - 9 SP - 42011 EP - 42019 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Turner, Sarah T. A1 - Pingel, Patrick A1 - Steyrleuthner, Robert A1 - Crossland, Edward J. W. A1 - Ludwigs, Sabine A1 - Neher, Dieter T1 - Quantitative analysis of bulk heterojunction films using linear absorption spectroscopy and solar cell performance JF - Advanced functional materials N2 - A fundamental understanding of the relationship between the bulk morphology and device performance is required for the further development of bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. Here, non-optimized (chloroform cast) and nearly optimized (solvent-annealed o-dichlorobenzene cast) P3HT:PCBM blend films treated over a range of annealing temperatures are studied via optical and photovoltaic device measurements. Parameters related to the P3HT aggregate morphology in the blend are obtained through a recently established analytical model developed by F. C. Spano for the absorption of weakly interacting H-aggregates. Thermally induced changes are related to the glass transition range of the blend. In the chloroform prepared devices, the improvement in device efficiency upon annealing within the glass transition range can be attributed to the growth of P3HT aggregates, an overall increase in the percentage of chain crystallinity, and a concurrent increase in the hole mobilities. Films treated above the glass transition range show an increase in efficiency and fill factor not only associated with the change in chain crystallinity, but also with a decrease in the energetic disorder. On the other hand, the properties of the P3HT phase in the solvent-annealed o-dichlorobenzene cast blends are almost indistinguishable from those of the corresponding pristine P3HT layer and are only weakly affected by thermal annealing. Apparently, slow drying of the blend allows the P3HT chains to crystallize into large domains with low degrees of intra- and interchain disorder. This morphology appears to be most favorable for the efficient generation and extraction of charges. KW - Organic electronics KW - morphology KW - solar cells KW - mobility KW - absorption spectroscopy Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201101583 SN - 1616-301X VL - 21 IS - 24 SP - 4640 EP - 4652 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER -